The prior art is documented with examples of medical prosthetic implant assemblies such as defining replacement joints. One example is depicted in the wear resistant ball and socket joint of Waggener, U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,407, which includes biologically inert ball and socket components exhibiting different hardness levels and which is configured to minimize wear and chemical, electrochemical and mechanical deterioration in the environment of the human body.
Other examples include the system and method depicted in Sherman, U.S. Pat. No. 8,176,922, for a bi-directional communication within an implantable medical device using an implant component as an antenna and which interfaces with an external data communication device. In a monopole antenna configuration, a ground plane is established so that the electromagnetic field emitted by the implant component is reflected and the emitted and reflected fields resemble the emitted field of a dipole antenna for the carrier frequency.
Blunn et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,849,076, teaches a surgical distraction device for applying an extending or tensioning force non-invasively to a patient's skeleton or to an implant which includes anchoring means for attaching first and second components of the device to a bone or to adjoining bones. The components are connected by a linkage of an extendable length, a magnet connected to the linkage via a reduction gearbox and actuating means located externally of the patient for generating a moving or varying electro-magnetic field, thereby causing the magnet to rotate and the linkage to be extended.